Meet Rufio! This eleven-month-old Pitbull Husky Mix from Santa Monica, California is here with us for our Two Week Board and Train Program. Rufio is a friendly and very energetic pup, but he is very easily distracted and struggles to maintain the focus needed to reliably listen to what is asked of him. He is very easily overexcited, likes to pull heavily on the leash, and likes to push boundaries whenever he can. Rufio also has a bad habit of jumping all over people when excited, as well as mouthing and nipping at body parts, clothing, and his leash. Over the next fourteen days, we will be working to improve his obedience, manners, and overall listening skills to set him on the right track to becoming a well-behaved pup both on and off leash! Stay tuned for his transformation!
Pupdate 12/4/2024
Today Rufio and I spent the day bonding and getting to know each other after his pickup! We walked around and explored the park a bit, and I worked to develop a positive relationship with him to help him feel comfortable and happy training with me going forward. He was extremely excited to meet me, and for most of our time there, he was insistent on jumping all over me and mouthing me as much as he physically could. Rufio also seems to have a major habit of biting on and trying to play with his leash, which made guiding him with it difficult as he would sometimes nip my hands and arms while trying to grab it. The only time he seemed to pause from these behaviors was when something else caught his attention, such as another dog or a squirrel nearby, at which point he would fixate on them until the distracted moved far enough away to lose his interest. After taking some time to explore the park and assess his general behavior and personality, I began testing his knowledge of basic commands to help me get an idea of his starting point and what areas of his training may need some extra attention. Since Rufio was so overexcited, he struggled heavily to follow any instructions as he was too busy trying to play and run around. He seemed to have no concept of the Heel command, and when he wasn't jumping on me, he was pulling heavily on the leash in an attempt to get where he wanted to go. He would sometimes Come when called, though if something else had his attention the chances of him recalling was next to zero, and if he did happen to come, he would immediately begin jumping on me again. Whenever he happened to have a brief moment of focus, he was actually able to perform Sit and Down which shows he has some knowledge of them, though he was wildly inconsistent with following through and typically chose to ignore the cues.
After we'd spent some time together at the park getting to know each other, it was time to head home and get him settled in! Rufio was able to jump into my car easily enough, and entered the kennel without any issue, which is a good display of Car Manners. He whined for a few minutes, but quickly settled down for the drive home. Whenever Rufio is to ride in a car with me, he will be secured in a kennel for his utmost safety. He will also be in a kennel at home during nighttime or any other time he is unsupervised. Once home, he very enthusiastically investigated the new environment, and after lots of exploring, he finally seemed content to relax and make himself comfortable. Later, we went out for a walk around my neighborhood to help him become familiar with the area. We will be taking walks around my neighborhood daily, so getting him used to this environment will be good for him as well. When exiting the house to start our walk, Rufio kept trying to run out the door as soon as it was opened, so we will also be working to improve his Door Manners to make sure he can respect the boundary a doorway creates as this will help keep him safe. At dinner time, he eagerly ate his food, although while getting his food ready he was jumping both on me and the counters a lot. When setting the food bowl down, he attempted to rush to it before it even reached the floor, so Food Manners are something we will definitely work on as well! Overall Rufio seems to be settling in well, and we are so excited to begin this training journey together!
Pupdate 12/5/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a park, where we met with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups! This provided a great opportunity to practice Rufio's training within close proximity to other dogs and people. The park also had some other visitors, along with distractions such as birds, squirrels, bicycles, and grassy fields. During today's training, we focused on introducing Rufio to the e-collar and the Heel command.
Pressure is a fundamental tool used in teaching basic obedience commands. The idea is that whenever pressure is applied, be it from a leash or an e-collar, it is paired with a command. The pressure then remains present until Rufio follows the pressure and the command being given. The moment he follows through, the pressure immediately turns off and a reward is given. Yesterday, whenever the leash was used to apply pressure, he would firmly resist it, try to pull in the opposite direction, and made no attempt to turn the pressure off, so it was clear he didn't quite understand the concept of leash pressure just yet. He also seemed to completely ignore pressure from a normal collar and a slip lead, so we practiced with a prong collar which when properly used is a very helpful tool to both discourage pulling and help him develop a clear understanding of pressure. We spent a good amount of time focusing on teaching him what leash pressure means, and how to turn off the pressure once it's applied. He learned that trying to resist it was not successful or rewarding, and that simply following the directional pressure and paying attention to what I was asking of him was very simple and rewarding! Once he understood the leash pressure, we began adding in a new form of pressure from the e-collar. By pairing these two forms of pressure simultaneously, he will come to understand that each pressure has the same meaning. With time and practice, this will allow the leash and e-collar to be used interchangeably, and eventually allow the opportunity to begin training with the e-collar only, without the need for a leash! Be sure to check out today's video for an in-depth e-collar tutorial!
The Heel command is an important concept for Rufio to begin developing early on in his training, as his strong pulling while on the leash can pose dangers to his handler, himself, or others in the area if it is allowed to continue. The goal for the Heel command is for Rufio to be able to follow directly alongside his handler on their left side at their heels, and maintain that position while walking unless released or given a new command. This precise positioning takes a lot of practice to master, but it will reduce and eventually eliminate pulling on the leash or veering off in different directions, and allow his handler to take the lead on walks instead of him trying to pull them around wherever he pleases. To introduce this command, I kept the leash short but loose, and ensured he stayed on my left side in roughly the Heel position as we walked. If he began to veer off or pull ahead, leash and e-collar pressure were applied, and the verbal command Heel was given. He eventually began to grasp the concept, stopped trying to pull as much, and instead learned to follow the guidance of the leash. When walking in the correct Heel position, the leash was loose, no pressure was applied, and lots of praise and rewards were given to communicate that he was in the desired position. As he gets better with this command, he will have an easier time staying in the Heel position without as much guidance or pressure needed, and will need to be reminded less and less to return to position.Ā For his first day, he seemed to catch on quickly and is making good progress!
Pupdate 12/6/2024
Rufio and I took a trip to a local park today, where we introduced the Off and Come to Sit commands, as well as continued to practice with his Heel. We found a relatively distraction-free area of the park, and began the training session there where Rufio could have a good environment to focus and learn in. Once he was in a good mindset for training and began catching onto the new commands introduced, we began moving around to different areas of the park to practice around a slightly increased amount of distractions.
Rufio will often become fixated on distractions, which makes it difficult for him to regain his focus or listen to any instructions being given to him. He also frequently likes to jump on people, mouth people, and bite at his leash, which are troublesome behaviors we certainly do not want to encourage as they could lead to accidental injury. Moments like this are a great opportunity to implement the Off command. The goal for the Off command is for Rufio to stop whatever he is doing, and focus on his handler. This is a very versatile command, similar to "no", "leave it", or "stop it", and can be used in various situations, such as to interrupt hyper-fixation, jumping, nipping, barking, or any other behaviors that are undesirable or inappropriate at that time. The Off command when paired with leash and e-collar pressures allows me to quickly grab his attention and get him to focus on me so that he is in a better mindset to listen for upcoming instructions. Once the Off command is given, it's beneficial to immediately follow it with another command such as Sit, Heel, Come, etc. Once his focus is regained, asking him to then focus on a task will help keep his attention away from what initially distracted him or caused the undesirable behavior. Rufio has shown good progress in understanding the Off command so far, and with each repetition, he seems to be quicker to respond and refocus when prompted! Using this command consistently has also been working to discourage poor behaviors from occurring in the first place.
Come to Sit is another important command to begin practicing early on in Rufio's training journey, as it will be our main form of recall. Having a solid recall is important for any pup's obedience training, though this will be especially crucial for him to master if he is to be allowed off-leash. The goal for Come to Sit is for Rufio to come directly to me when called, and circle around to perform a Sit on my left side. The Come to Sit command when performed in its entirety, ensures that he not only comes when called, but also requires him to sit beside his handler and not leave that spot unless released or given a new command such as Heel. By having him sit on the left side facing forward, we are setting him up for success to begin walking in Heel as he is already in the desired position for it. We introduced this concept today by combining the verbal command with leash and e-collar pressure to grab his attention and guide him towards me. Once he followed the guidance and approached me, the leash was used to then guide him around to my left side, where he was asked to perform a Sit. As we practiced more, he began to rely less on the leash pressure to grab his attention and guide him, which is a good sign of progress! With each successful repetition, I made sure to reward him with lots of praise and affection, to build up a positive association with the command and coming to me when called.
Pupdate 12/7/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a local shopping strip, where we trained around different kinds of distractions. The shopping strip had a variety of distractions present, including people, other dogs, birds, food, and noisy street traffic. We focused on two commands today, Place and Down. Rufio has some understanding of both Place and Down already, but today's session was focused on ensuring these two commands are up to speed with the rest of his learned skills so far.
The goal for the Place command is for Rufio to jump or climb onto a designated object, such as a bench, a bed, or another object with defined borders, and hold a stationary command while remaining on the Place object until released or given a new command. While he does seem to understand this command and can perform it with decent reliability, he is prone to breaking the Place command if he gets bored, distracted, or otherwise chooses to no longer remain on the object. We spent some extra time today working to improve his confidence, skills, and patience with Place by practicing with lots of different objects, working around more distractions, and emphasizing the implied stay that comes with the command.
The goal for Down is simple in concept, with the expectation simply being for Rufio to lie down completely when asked, and remain there until released or given a new command. However this command can be difficult for some dogs, especially for pups like Rufio who tend to be easily overexcited and struggle to relax. He made some good progress with Down today and did a good job overall about holding the position, though there were still several times when he would break his Down due to something distracting him, and he would need to be asked to re-enter it. Giving him regular verbal praise and reminders seemed to help keep his focus and reduce the chances of him breaking position.
Pupdate 12/8/2024
Today Rufio and I visited an outdoor mall, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The mall had people, dogs, food, and noisy street traffic to serve as distractions during training. At first, Rufio was a bit over-excited as we arrived, eager to explore all the new sights and smells. However, after spending a little time adjusting to the environment, he was able to focus more consistently. As we worked, his attention improved, and he showed greater ability to filter out distractions, responding more reliably to cues as we went along.
When it came to his commands, Rufio did quite well. His Heel command was solid, walking alongside me with no pulling on the leash, though he did occasionally stray slightly when something caught his attention. When this happened, a quick reminder was enough to get him back on track and into position. His Come to Sit command was especially impressive, with him reliably coming over and sitting in position nearly every time with only light guidance needed. He also handled Sit, Down, and Place with ease, and seems to be catching onto the concept of implied stay. Occasionally he would break command, though he was quick to return to it and seemed discouraged from doing so the longer we spent training. He's also doing much better about not biting on the leash and jumping on me randomly. I have noticed he will sometimes get a bit too excited about the release cue "Break", and in his excitement forget about the jumping rule, though this is becoming less common as the Off command quickly interrupts it.
Pupdate 12/9/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a park, where we met up with some other OffLeash SoCal trainers and their pups. This was another great opportunity for Rufio to practice his training within close proximity to people and other dogs in a controlled environment. The park had some other distractions as well, such as large grassy fields and squirrels.
Rufio overall was pretty excited about arriving at the park and being around all the distractions, though with time he understood that we were there to focus on training, and became more focused on his work rather than trying to initiate play. He would sometimes fixate on the other dogs if they were close to him, though he was able to shift his focus away when asked and center his attention back on his commands. He did well with his commands overall, and didn't experience any notable issues with them. He was able to follow through with instructions with good consistency, and seems to have a solid understanding of the expectations set for him when the commands are given.
We also had some great opportunities to practice Rufio's Greeting Manners today, as we had the other trainers to help us practice this since Rufio isn't quite ready to meet most strangers due to his tendency to jump and nip when excited. The goal for Greeting Manners is for Rufio to be able to meet or greet people calmly and politely, whether in public or at home. Rufio's poor habits, which even with his friendly intentions, are a dangerous behavior as he could accidentally injure someone! ToĀ help Rufio learn the desired manners, we first have him perform and hold Sit or Down directly beside his handler, as this gives him a task to focus on and discourages him from breaking the position to jump on anyone. If he tries to jump up, paw, or nip, any affection being given abruptly ends, the Off command is given, and he is immediately asked to return to position. If a new person wishes to greet Rufio, it's important to inform them of his training and the expectations set for him, that way they know wht to expect and can help reinforce the training appropriately. All praise, attention, and affection should be reserved strictly for when he is stationary, calm, and following instructions. If he is rewarded at all when behaving poorly, then the training will be inconsistent and be detrimental to his progress. Staying consistent with these manners is key to his success, as he will come to understand that his usual habits are not rewarding behaviors, and only delay or prevent him from getting what he wants, which is to say hello to people and get attention from them! He did a good job with his greetings overall today, though did still have one instance where he tried to paw at and nibble on the sleeve of one of the trainers greeting him. Thankfully, he quickly stopped when corrected with Off, and was able to calmly be greeted for the remainder of the interaction.
Pupdate 12/10/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a park, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The park had a decent amount of distractions around, including people, other dogs, children playing, ball games, and small animals like squirrels and birds.
Rufio was quite excitable when we first arrived, and was very eager to explore around the park. When first entering, he was given the opportunity to sniff around and take in his surroundings for a few minutes, which seemed to help him become more familiar with the environment and less overly interested in everything once we began training.
Rufio did well with his commands overall today! His Heel was generally very good, and he did a particularly good job with walking past distractions without veering off towards them. The distraction he seemed to struggle with the most today was surprisingly not other animals or people, but rather trees or other objects he felt the urge to mark on. Since he is a young pup who is not yet fixed, he tends to act impulsively which can cause sudden lapses in focus with commands like Heel when walking past tempting objects like trees, trash cans, or light poles. We ended up spending much of our visit here working to discourage this impulsive behavior, and teach him that while in a command such as Heel, he is not allowed to veer off to sniff or urinate on anything. Rufio did well with all of his other commands and did not experience any notable issues!
Pupdate 12/11/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a Home Depot, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The store had a variety of distractions present, including people, shopping carts, and loud noises from nearby machinery.
Rufio was a bit overwhelmed when we first arrived, and wanted to take in all the sights, sounds, and smells around the store. He struggled to consistently follow commands at first, though once he became more familiar with the location and the various surroundings, he was much better about focusing on his training and following through with what was asked of him. He was also quite popular, and had many shoppers and employees complimenting both his adorable looks and his great obedience skills. Rufio did struggle a bit with staying still and calm when people approached to compliment him, especially if they used an excited or baby-talk voice when speaking. He would sometimes break commands like Sit to try to approach them, though he did not try to jump on anyone which was good to see! Upon first taking Rufio into our care, we were informed that Rufio has a sensitive stomach and is prone to having an upset stomach. Until this point his stool has been firm and normal, however his stool was a bit softer than usual this morning, and by evening it had become watery diarrhea and he needed frequent potty breaks to avoid accidents, as he was unable to hold it like he normally would. He unfortunately did have one accident inside my home when I had stepped out of his view for a minute to prepare his dinner, after which point I made sure to keep eyes on him at all times to avoid any further mishaps. We added a bit more pumpkin to his dinner tonight, and switched his kibble to his prescription diet, so hopefully this will help settle his tummy!
Pupdate 12/12/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a farmer's market, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. This area was pretty busy, with plenty of people, other dogs, music, food, and other distractions around.
Despite the busy surroundings, Rufio did a great job staying calm, focused, and on task! Before walking around the busiest areas of the location, we first spent some time focusing on having him hold his stationary commands nearby in a slightly quieter area to give him some time to observe his surroundings and become familiar with the distractions from a distance. This seemed to help a lot, and he ended up being quite neutral towards most distractions we encountered, and whenever he did become distracted he was quick to refocus when prompted.
Today's focus was on practicing his commands with as little leash pressure as possible. In order for Rufio to be reliable with his commands while off leash, he first needs to master his performance with them on leash without the leash needing to be used to guide or reinforce. This is done by focusing more on the verbal cues and hand signals for the commands, and using only the e-collar as reinforcement. By reserving the use of the leash only for when he truly needs it, we can wean him off the concept of always needing physical guidance for his commands, and instead teach him to problem solve and use his knowledge of commands to follow instructions given to him. He ended up doing a good job with this, and was able to perform his commands pretty consistently without any leash pressure, though some commands such as Heel and Come to Sit will still need some work.
Rufio did need one urgent potty break in the middle of the night last night, though over the course of the day his tummy seems to be feeling a bit better. His stool is still very soft, though thankfully no more diarrhea, and he is back on a regular potty schedule.
Pupdate 12/13/2024
Today Rufio and I visited an indoor mall, where we practiced each of his commands around distractions. The mall was pretty busy, and had lots of holiday shoppers, dogs, and other distractions such as food and music.
Rufio did need some time to adjust to the busy environment as he was a bit overwhelmed by everything when we first arrived, but after spending some time sitting on a bench together and letting him take it all in, he seemed to relax a lot. When we began training and exploring around the mall, he was able to stay focused and did a great job with his commands!
We continued focusing on having him perform commands with minimal to no leash pressure, and he did great with this! He very rarely needed any leash pressure to assist him with any commands. Come to Sit was the only command the leash was used for, as sometimes he just needed a slight nudge to get him to tighten his positioning when he was distracted, however it was used very sparingly as he corrected himself without it majority of the time.
We're also happy to share that Rufio's tummy issues are no longer present, and his stool has returned to a normal, firm state.
Pupdate 12/14/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a park, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The park had a variety of distractions present, including people, dogs, squirrels, and grassy fields.
Rufio did a good job staying focused overall, though he still needed a bit of time to adjust before he could fully focus on his training. He was quite excited to explore the park when we first arrived, though after a few minutes had passed this excitement faded and he was more willing to engage with me and ignore distractions around us.
We continued practicing all of Rufio's commands with no leash pressure to continue preparing him for the transition to being off leash. He did a great job with all of his commands today, and we were successfully able to train with no leash pressure needed for any of his commands. We trained with a long leash today, which helped by providing him with greater amounts of physical freedom to make choices without interference from the leash. We were also able to get some practice in with the leash dragging when in appropriate areas of the park, which is a great way to simulate how Rufio might behave while off leash, while still having it readily available should it be needed for any reason. He did well with this overall, though it took him some time to become comfortable with the leash dragging along the floor since at first he wanted to play with it so it was quite distracting for him, though he learned to ignore it eventually.
Pupdate 12/15/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a local park, where we practiced all of his commands around distractions. The park had distractions such as people, other dogs, and small animals. Some areas of the park were quieter with fewer distractions, and some areas were more dense with distractions such as the fields with dogs running around, or the playground with children playing.
As usual Rufio was very excited to check out the area and become acquainted with everything it had to offer, though he did seem to understand when it was time to focus on work versus when it was time for play. We first spent some time warming up his training in the quieter areas, and later ventured into the more distraction-heavy spots to continue proofing his obedience with more challenges.
Once we had spent some time warming up his obedience on leash, we focused on practicing Rufio's commands with the leash dragging, and overall he did very well! There were naturally some minor mistakes made here and there, which is to be expected with Rufio's age and current training stage, though each one served as a learning opportunity for him and helped better his overall progress as they occurred less and less frequently. Some common mistakes were sitting slightly out of position for Come to Sit, or veering off or ahead slightly during Heel. However once we began leash dragging, there was never a point where I needed to pick up the leash to guide him, as he was always able to correct himself without it.
Pupdate 12/16/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a park, where we met up with some other off leash trainers and their pups, and continued working on each of his commands around distractions.
When we arrived we started out by practicing his commands on leash and getting him to a point where his initial excitement was settled so that he could reliably focus on training. He quickly adapted to the environment and we were able to move on to leash dragging exercises, which he continued to do well with! After a while of training, Rufio was consistently focused, calm, and eager to practice his commands all without needing help from the leash, so we proceeded with removing it and continued the session while off leash! He didn't seem to notice or mind the lack of the leash, and was able to perform just as well as he normally would. Any minor mistakes made were easily corrected, and he didn't have any notable issues with any commands.
Pupdate 12/17/2024
Today Rufio and I visited a mall where we put all of his learned skills to use to have a great last day together! We were able to practice all of his commands while off leash around distractions, and he did a fantastic job! Rufio is not only excelling with his skills and manners while out in public, but he has also made huge transformations in his behavior inside the home as well! House manners are something we have been working on little by little each day since day one. These manners include areas such as Food Manners and Door Manners.
The goal for Food Manners is for Rufio to be able to hold a stationary command while his food is prepared and set in front of him. He is then asked to remain in that position until he is released before he can get up and eat his food. Rufio tends to get excited about his food, and in the early stages of his training, he was prone to jumping on me or counters when anticipating food, and rushing to the food bowl the moment it was set down. As he progressed in his overall obedience and impulse control, he quickly replaced his bad habits and learned to be polite and patient even when faced with very tempting distractions such as food directly in front of him!
Another area of manners we have been working on is Rufio's Door Manners. The goal of Door Manners is for Rufio to hold a stationary position while near a door and remain there until released or given a new command, such as Come or Heel. He is asked to hold the position at the location asked of him, and not break the command even if the door is left open, if someone is knocking on it, or if people walk in or out of it. This practice teaches important boundaries, and prevents impolite and possibly dangerous behaviors he once displayed, such as trying to escape through open doors, shoving past people when walking through doors, or rushing over to jump on people who enter through the door. With daily practice, Rufio has made great progress with his manners related to doors, and understands to follow instructions no matter what distractions the door may create. Having proper Door Manners is also a great way to set Rufio up for success with in-home Greeting Manners as well, as he is prompted to hold the position asked of him and is discouraged from jumping on people.
Rufio has made such an amazing transformation in these past two weeks, and the differences in him are truly night and day! Before the program, he had a tendency to immediately become overexcited, overwhelmed, and overstimulated by everything around him, causing him to struggle to pay attention or follow commands. He has since learned to stay calm, focused, and neutral to his surroundings even in the most busy of places. His acquired skills and good behavior now allow him to safely enjoy the freedom and fun that comes with being off leash, which opens the door for training and fun times without the hassle of a leash! While he may seem like a whole new dog, he is still the same silly, loving, and playful pup he always has been, and with his new obedience skills he is even more of a joy to be around and take with on all sorts of adventures! Rufio has been such a pleasure to train and share my home with, and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to help this good boy become the best version of himself! The sky is the limit for this pup, and I know he has a very bright future ahead in his continued training journey with his family!
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